Page 4 of Cloak of the Vampire
“You need a Tyler,” Skye advised sagely. “That will solve all of your problems.”
“No, it won’t,” Cassidy replied irritably. She then turned to look at me. “What about you, Aileen? Anyone in your life, for a change?”
She knew the answer to that question already, but she still asked every time we met. It had become almost a habit for her. And like every time she asked, I acted as if it was the first time and manifested a blush, shaking my head and murmuring a soft “No.”
She rolled her eyes and exhaled smoke into the night. “When are you ever going to start dating? Have sex? You can’t stay a virgin forever.”
If she only knew. “I ... I don’t ...,” I stammered as I tried to figure out something evasive to respond with.
“Leave her be, Cass.” Skye snickered. “Some people are just meant to be alone. It’s not as if she doesn’t have opportunities to meet guys. Whenever we’re out, she’s out. But she gives off this vibe that makes her so unapproachable,” she said as if I wasn’t standing right there.
“Yeah, I suppose so.” Cassidy snickered, too, then gave me a once-over. “Seriously, though. You could be hot if you just tried, Aileen. You’re pretty, in your own way. It wouldn’t hurt for you to show a little skin, put some makeup on, run a brush through your hair. Maybe get some highlights or something. These baggy clothes aren’t cutting it.”
What she calledbaggy clotheswere tights and a long-sleeved, V-neck tee with a sweater. If I didn’t show even a small patch of skin, it wasn’t good enough for her. But again, I was immune to her insults. It took far more than that to crack me.
Thankfully, I didn’t have time to come up with a response since the cab arrived. Skye hugged us, told us she loved us (yeah, right), and took off.
Cassidy and I lived in the cheap part of town. Or at least it used to be cheap. Before, you could rent a sixth-story one-bedroom walk-up for like six hundred dollars a month. But developers swooped in and put in fancy stores and coffee shops, and now, you couldn’t get a studio apartment for less than nine hundred dollars.
Which was why it had been such a big shock when Cassidy had wanted to move out of our shared apartment about six months ago, considering apartments were hardly affordable for a single person.
We first met when I’d just moved into the apartment next door to the one she shared with her then boyfriend, Austin. We moved in together after she left her abusive relationship, and I thought all was well. But one day back in April, without warning, Cassidy moved a couple of streets away from me. It was as if she was hiding something from me. Or someone. Or perhaps she simply couldn’t stand living with me anymore.
Now, we walked together through the neighborhood. As usual, I accompanied Cassidy back home first before heading back to mine. I had adopted this protector mentality when it came to Cassidy, and even though she hated being a victim, she would never admit that she liked that I watched out for her.
Things were so different between us when Skye wasn’t around.
As we walked, Cassidy said, “I really think you should start taking better care of yourself.”
I didn’t tell her that hooking up with guys didn’t count as taking care of myself, so instead, I retorted, “Thank you for worrying, but you don’t need to. I’m happy with my life.”
She snorted. “How could you be happy, working in that store all the time and having no actual social life except for when Skye and I are hanging out?”
“It’s a quiet, modest life,” I told her, feeling a tad bit more defensive than usual. “I like it.”And for people like me, it’s the best and only solution.
“What about painting?” she asked out of nowhere. “You used to love those painting classes you took a couple of years ago.”
Lovewas a very loaded word. “I still paint from time to time,” I murmured reluctantly, “but those classes are expensive ...”
She threw her hands up. “I give up,” she said, annoyed. “Do whatever you want. Work shitty jobs for the rest of your boring life for allI care. I don’t know why I even bother since you seem so content with having no life at all!”
Cassidy had a problem comprehending different perspectives. She never bothered looking for the little nuances and experiences that made each person perceive the world in their own unique way. She couldn’t grasp the idea that living this life gave me a sense of freedom I’d never dared dream of in the past.
So I didn’t care to explain.
She deflated at the lack of response and gave a mighty huff. “I can’t believe you love being like this, being so ... so ...” For once, she was at a loss for words in trying to describe me.
“I’m happy,” I told her, forcing out an amicable smile. She wasn’t wrong. I knew my life was far from good. My job sucked and didn’t pay well. My only friends were Cassidy and Skye. I hadn’t bought anything new to wear in years, and if it were not for Cassidy, the only places I would ever go were work and home.
But it wasmylife, and Iwashappy—or at the very least, happier than I’d ever been before. The simple act of coming home from work and putting my key into the door of an apartment that was mine meant a lot to me.
Lips pursed, she didn’t speak to me until we reached her building. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, moving past me to the building’s entrance door.
“See you,” I retorted quietly.
I was about to leave when Cassidy suddenly said, “Can I ask you something?”
I turned around and stared at her, frowning. “Sure.”
